Contender’s Film: The Nominees opens today with 12 films competing for the Oscar

Deadlines Contenders Film: The nominees begin Saturday at 9 a.m. PT with 12 panels featuring some of the year’s biggest crowd favorites and artistic critical hits. This final round of this Oscars season’s Contenders events will feature virtual Q&A panels with the stars, creatives and on-screen craftsmen behind 12 of the films going gold at the Dolby Theater in less than a month.

Streaming Contenders events have captured a whole new global audience and also provide quick and easy access to filmmakers struggling with busy production schedules or, as is the case with some of the panels here, in locations around the world. In that sense, Contenders is here to dispel the myth that the Academy Awards are only a vehicle for the American film industry: you’ll see that today we have films from Italy, Poland, Sweden, Argentina, Ireland and Germany.

When the nominations were announced, there was the annual mourning period for the favorites who fell by the wayside. There were no women at all in the directing category, which particularly hurt admirers of Gina Prince-Bythewood’s action drama. The queen of womenand Danielle Deadwyler’s powerful performance To. Perhaps the most surprising was the conclusion of Park Chan-wook’s thriller decided to go, which shocked even the director’s biggest rivals on the international circuit. But the fact that so many high-profile films didn’t cross the border just goes to show how busy the field is this year. To help you make sense of it all, Deadlines Contenders film brings together the nominees for a brief discussion of their projects, revealing their methods and intentions with wit, wit and insight.

The most exciting thing about this year’s nominees is that there is so much to talk about, and it’s not just in terms of features. To start small, from the world of short films we have a live action (Alice Rohrwacher’s The schoolgirl) and an animated one (Matthew Freud and Charlie Mackesys The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse). Meanwhile on the other side we have Baz Lurhmanns elvis, a film as big as its larger-than-life subject. In between we have international contributions like that of Jerzy Skolimowski E.Oin which a donkey runs away of the circus; Colm Bairead The quiet girlwhere family secrets are revealed in devastating fashion; No news from the western front, Edward Berger’s version of a strong war novel; And Argentina, 1985Santiago Mitre’s sharp political drama about the fall of military fascism in the South American country.

From the category of animated features there are Pinocchio by Guillermo Del Toro, the director’s groundbreaking stop-motion retelling of Carlo Collodi’s famous fable about the doll who dreams of being a real human boy. Best Supporting Actor Brian Tyree Henry talks about his role opposite Jennifer Lawrence in Lila Neugebauers elevated road, a study of trauma and recovery. Sarah Polley is star-studded women talkThe Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay competition tells the story of a Mennonite community forced to take action against male abuse, and from the documentary camp there are Sara Dosa’s fire of love, a beautiful portrait of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, whose passion took their lives. Finally, for some much needed laughs, we have the best photo contender triangle of sadnessa raw cross-section through the life of the rich and empty from two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Ostlund.

Below is the current lineup from the studios, their films and panelists. You can also follow Deadline on social channels using the hashtag #DeadlineContenders.

Deadline Contenders Movie: The Nominees

09:00 – Live stream starts

ORION PICTURES/MGM PICTURES/UNITED ARTISTS RELEASE

women talk

Sarah Polley (writer/director)
Dede Gardner (producer)

DISNEY+ ORIGINAL MOVIES

the student

Alice Rohrwacher (writer/director)
Alfonso Cuaron (producer)

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTARY FILMS

fire of love

Sara Dosa (Director/Producer)
Shane Boris (Producer)
Erin Casper (Editor)
Jocelyne Chaput (Editor)

SYSHOW & JANUS FILMS

E.O

Jerzy Skolimowski (co-writer/director/producer)
Ewa Piaskowska (co-writer/producer)

NETFLIX

Pinocchio by Guillermo del Toro

Guillermo del Toro (writer/director/producer)
Mark Gustafson (Director)

No news from the western front

Edward Berger (co-writer/director/producer)
Heike Merker (hair and make-up designer)
James Friend (Cameraman)
Albrecht Schuch (actor)
Volker Bertelmann (composer)

WARNER BROS. PHOTOS

elvis

Mandy Walker (Cameraman)

AMAZON STUDIOS

Argentina, 1985

Ricardo Darín (Actor/Producer)
Santiago Miter (writer/director/producer)
Axel Kuschevatzky (producer)
Victoria Alonso (Producer)

APPLE ORIGINAL FILMS

The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse

Peter Baynton (Director)
Charlie Mackesy (writer/director)
Cara Speller (producer)

elevated road

Brian Tyree Henry (Actor)

OUTSTANDING

The quiet girl

Colm Bairead (writer/director)

NEON

triangle of sadness

Ruben Ostlund (writer/director)